Links & Resources

›› Exercise & wellness
›› Immune System and Longevity Genes
›› Anti Aging Drugs & Replacement Organs

Inside your body, you have an amazing protection mechanism which is called the immune system. Boosting immune system and longevity genes will help you defend against millions of bacteria, microbes, viruses, toxins and parasites which can invade your body. To understand the capacity of the immune system, you need to have a look at what happens to anything once it dies.

After death effects

When something dies, its immune system shuts down. In some hours, the body is invaded by all kinds of bacteria, microbes, parasites and so on. None of these things will be able to get in when your immune system is working. The time when your immune system stops the door is wide open. Once you die, the organisms can dismantle your body and carry it away. What is left then is only the skeleton. It is obvious that your immune system is doing something amazing to keep all that happening when you are alive.

Understanding the immune system

The immune system is complex and also very intricate and interesting. There are two good reasons for you to know more about the immune system. Firstly, it is fascinating to know how fevers, hives, inflammation, etc. occur in your own body and from where they happen. You will also hear a lot about the immune system with some new drugs come entering the market. -- knowing about the immune system makes these news stories understandable. You need to know your immune system works. This is for you to understand what it is doing for you each day and what it is not doing.

Nature of immune system

The immune system comprises of many interdependent cell types. These cells collectively protect the body from bacterial, parasitic, fungal and viral infections. They also prevent the growth of tumor cells. Many of these cells have some specialized functions. The cells of the immune system can surround the bacteria, kill parasites or tumor cells or even kill the viral-infected cells. These cells depend on the T helper subset for activation signals. This will be in the form of secretions which are formally known as cytokines, lymphokines, or more specifically interleukins. You can review the organs, cell types and interactions between cells of the immune system and in the processed also know their importance and interdependence on the T helper subset. Such an understanding may help you to comprehend the root of immune deficiencies. It will also help you to and perceive potential avenues that the immune system can be modulated. This is more specific to certain diseases.

All the cells of the immune system are derived from the bone marrow initially. These form through a process called hematopoiesis. During this, bone marrow-derived stem cells differentiate into either mature cells of the immune system or they move into precursors of cells which migrate from the bone marrow. The bone marrow produces B cells, natural killer cells, granulocytes and immature thymocytes.